The Straits Times adds: “The horrifying report vividly depicted the brutality of the young North Korean leader. The fact that it appeared in a Beijing-controlled newspaper showed that China no longer cares about its relations with the Kim regime.”

Jang's execution - determined by a specially-convened military tribunal - is the first public killing of a senior official in many years and prompted South Korean President Park Guen-Hye to say the South feared a wave of purges would follow.

"North Korea is now engaged in a reign of terror while carrying out a massive purge to consolidate the power of Kim Jong Un," she told a cabinet meeting.